Wood in Architecture and Construction - Assignment 1 - How it grows? -Yaqi Liao (1/3)
Small log
Lifespan:
up to 300 years in its
natural range in Europe Lifespan:
up to 250 years
In Australia, red ironbark
logs are almost exclusively
sourced from native forests.
Material Circulation
40 years to cut
Material Circulation
30 years to cut
Big log
Main Yield
Main Yield
Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon)
Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
Height
up to 40 meters
Height
up to 35
meters
Pulp Wood
Pulp/ Paper
Top &Branches
Energy
Top &Branches
Energy
Stump
Energy
Spruce root system
is extensive but close to
the surface, so it does not
get water from deep.
It might lead the tree
grow more vertically and
higher.
Ironbark root
have invasive roots, which made
the tree grow fast. The root must
dive deep in order to provide
adequate supportive structure
for their body weight.
Top log
Furniture/ Glued Sections
Interior Cladding/
Exterior Cladding
Upper log
The shape of the trunk is
usually branch-free for up to
half the tree's height.
Usage: ner sawn timber
products
rewood/furniture
Middle log/Butt log
Construction/
Structural prodouts/
Roof Trusses/Glulam/
Log Construction/
Components/Packaging
Butt Log
Rough and brous on the major/
lower part of the trunk
outstanding resilient & hard
timber for heavy engineering
construction: e.g. wharfs and
bridges; railway sleepers poles;
and posts
Spruce is the last tree species in the eco-logical sequence and the dominant tree in the forest.
Enironment and Landscape: Spruce prefers a shady habitat. Young spruces are sensitive to frost.A good habitat
is a grassy woodland or a dry peaty blueberry forest with heavy moss and lichen cover, which has fresh soil rich in
nutrients. It is vulnerable to dry conditions, storms, air pollutions and damage caused by rot.In a poor habitat spruce
provides good quality wood if it grows densely enough. In such conditions the trunk grows fewer branches.1
Soil condition: moist and well-drained soil that is slightly acidic.
Eucalyptus sideroxylon, commonly known as red ironbark is a small to medium-sized tree in eastern Australia.
Enironment and Landscape: Ironbark is native to Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, Australia. It mostly
grows on the plains, slopes, and hillsides. Grows naturally in dry to sub-humid warm temperate and subtropical
climates, generally areas with annual lows of 6 to 16°C, annual highs of 19 to 32°C, annual rainfall of 400 to 1300 mm
(700mm + is the best) and a dry season of 10 months or less. 3
Soil condition: well-draining and moist soils; can toletate light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils
needle leaves
retain more water
Leaves are lance-shaped
remain on the tree in all
seasons
sun dries the cone scales
the following spring.
Fertilised owers develop into
small goblet-shaped seed
capsules that turn red-brown
when mature, with seed inside.
Grow -up tree could be 1
meter wide. lower branches self-
pruning as the tree grows
Without human activity,
there would certainly
be more than 1/3 of
trees made of spruce in
Finland.2
The colour is darker in the lower
or the root part of the log
3Flora of victoria, accessed September 29, 2022, https://vicora.rbg.vic.gov.au/ora/taxon/b967c639-c30e-4bdd-8f78-f8c903134f5c.
1“Spruce,” Puuproa, accessed September 29, 2022, https://puuproa./puutieto-2-2/species/kuusi-2/?lang=en.
2 “Sisällys - Suomen Metsäyhdistys Ry.” Accessed September 29, 2022. https://smy./wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Puulajit_2012_nettiversio.pdf.
Density: 1090-1140 kg/m3
Density: 470 kg/m3
Weight：Lumber：2,700 Mbf；Logs：7,700 Mbf (Mbf=1000 board feet) Weight：A very heavy timber, at 1120 kilograms per cubic metre
color: deep dark red to red-brownColor: light-coloured, homogenous, and the yellowish heartwood is not clearly distinguished from the cambium.
grain pattern: It has a ne and even texture with an interlocked grain
grain pattern: homogenous and knotty
Hardness: 10.7-11.9 kN Hardwood
Hardness: 1.3 kN Soft
Durability: Very High – More than 40 Years（Above Ground）；High – 15-25 Years (In Ground)Durability: Low – 0-5 Years (In Ground), cannot be impregnated 1
Wood in Architecture and Construction - Assignment 1 - Properties of wood material- Yaqi Liao (2/3)
2“Ironbark, Red,” WoodSolutions, accessed September 29, 2022, https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/wood-species/hardwood/ironbark-red.
1“Spruce,” Puuproa, accessed September 29, 2022, https://puuproa./puutieto-2-2/species/kuusi-2/?lang=en.pdf.
Figure 1: "Spruce,” Puuproa, accessed September 29, 2022, https://puuproa./puutieto-2-2/species/kuusi-2/?lang=en.
Figure 2: "Spruce Log Cut,” Puuproa, accessed September 29, 2022, https://puuproa./
puutieto-2-2/species/kuusi-2/?lang=en.
Figure 3: "Ironbark, Red,” Woodsolutions, accessed September 28, 2022, https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/wood-species/hardwood/ironbark-red
Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon)
Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
Early wood：yellowish white
Late wlood：reddish yellow
Spruce's e sapwood and heartwood not always distinguishable, but
heartwood often tinged with brown and reddish-brown hues.
Spruce Plywood
• in every other ply the grain
direction is crosswise
• grain direction essential to the
strength+ visual character
Ironbark Flooring
• finished with varnishes, stains
and oils
• high resistance to rot
• excellent durability and
hardness.
Spruce Sawn
• Even colour and densly
grained strucrture.
• Particularly well-suited for
interior and exterior paneling,
furniture, construction.
Ironbark Sawn
• Fine texture
• intensive strength
• Ironbark is very hard to work,
limiting some applications that
require ne detailing.
Glue Laminated wood(Structural)
• graind direction influence the
stength?
• used forbeams in long span
structures
Ironbark Post (Structural)
• 150 x 150mm to 400x 400mm;
usually cube post?
• from 2.1m – 4.2m long
• Strong ,heavy, thick, compact,
and hard bark (good for public)
Tangential cut ：More timber out of each log;
Radial cut：when you want the sawn wood to have certain specific
characteristics such as grains on the surface, moisture ratio and dimensional
stability.
Usage: construction, glue lam, LVL, plywood, exterior cladding, panels Usage: Heavy construction, transport, and marine construction, domestic and non-domestic decks, joinery, furniture,
Tangential cut
Radial cut
Figure 4: "Ironbark Log Cut,” Realwood, accessed September 27, 2022, https://realwood.com.au/
product/ironbark-chopping-board/
Red ironbark heartwood is a deep red
Red ironbark sapwood is distinctive pale yellow
Dressed Dressed Clear
Coated
The red ironbark tree has a tendency towards piping, where a hollow forms
in the trunk's centre trunk and reduces recovery rates and sectional sizes of
sawn timber.2
Wood in Architecture and Construction - Assignment 1 - Examples -Yaqi Liao (3/3)
Assemble on
Site
Ironbark is a
stable material
that does not
changed much
Figure 6: "Pre-assembled Staircase,” International House,
Sydney, Australia, by Tzannes
Figure 7: "Ironbark Colonnade columns,” International House, Sydney, Australia, by Tzannes
Figure 8: "Ironbark column arrangement,”
International House, Sydney, Australia, by Tzannes
CLT
Ironbark
columns
1Cristobal Rojas, “International House / Tzannes,” ArchDaily (ArchDaily, May 23, 2017), https://www.archdaily.com/871807/international-house-tzannes
Reclaimed Ironbark Colonnade columns
CLT (Norway Spruce)
Why CLT (Norway Spruce)?
• During the construction period, Australia
did not have its own CLT factory, so they
have to import from Austria. However, CLT
is easy to assemble and disassemble. The
density of spruce is low, which leads the
materials to become lighter compared to
precast concrete. (Why spruce? not pine?)
• CLT can not only save time on site but also
embodied carbon and reduce water usage
during the construction,
• Although Spruce is a softwood which has
low hardness and durability, however,
the technology of CLT has improved
the structural properties of spruce by
distributing its along-the-grain strength
in both directions.
• The smell of spruce is natural, unlike the
chemical smell of dust or glue.
• The value of the prefabricated timber
product are pretty essential.
Unsure:
• CLT are indeed sustainable, but shipping
from Europe to Australia indeed cost lots
of energy.
• Fire risk?
Wood Material Use
International House, Sydney, Australia
Standing at the entrance to the Barangaroo
precinct, International House Sydney is
Australia’s rst engineered timber commercial
office building. On top of a concrete podium
deck, the structure is entirely glulam timber
beams, columns, CLT floors and walls to the
roof over level 6.1
Why Ironbark?
• The area has a history of timber construction. The recycled ironbark
columns made of typical Australian wood evoke memories of the
forest origins of timber.
• Ironbark is a very hard and heavy wood which is good as a structural
component. At the same time, it's very high durability and hardness
are ideal for high-trac places in public and commercial areas.
• Ironbark timbers have high density levels with strong natural
resistance to lyctid borers and termites.
Expected life cycle of the CLT and how it changes by the time.
(draw by author)
Expected life cycle of Ironbark and
how it changes by the time.
(draw by author)
Spruce cut
(Europe)
Logging
Assemble on
Site
Packaging and
Transporting in
Austria
Shipping to
Sydney
If demolition in
the future
If demolition in
the future
Transporting
to factory and
producing CLT
Transporting
to factory and
producing columns
Packaging and
Transporting to site
Transporting
Reuse as
product
Reuse as
product
Energy
recovery Energy
recovery
Recycled from
disused
rail bridges in
Queensland
CLT has a life span of
60 years (Keep the
mositure to increase
the longevity of CLT?)
Unsure
• The design used the split ring
shear connector inside of four
ironbark wood pieces. Similar to
a reinforced concrete structure,
connecting four pieces together
with steel to make the columns
bear more load?
Figure 5: "Facade,” International House, Sydney, Australia
